In 1980, John Eric Holmes, who was both an editor for D&D and an associate professor of neurology, published this piece in Psychology Today. It’s a fascinating look at what the game looked like 35 years ago, including a number of GM procedures that probably wouldn’t fly today.
A fascinating read, particularly the ending, which shows how far back Lovecraft’s influence goes—right to the very start of the hobby. We’re also reminded how fast-and-loose the game was in its early years, a free-form quality that lots of indie game designers have been working to capture in recent years: Dungeon Crawl Classics, Lamentations of the Flame Princess, Dungeon World, Torchbearer.